Iowa State's defensive line seeks to reemerge as a team strength

Editor’s note: Fifth in a 9-part series looking at the Iowa State football team ahead of the season opener on Aug. 23.

AMES — Ike Ezeogu’s father hails from Nigeria. The 6-foot-5, 285-pound Iowa State defensive lineman’s mom grew up in Sierra Leone. Both emigrated to the United States and met through his dad’s brother.

Their journey wasn’t easy — and it inspires Ezeogu every day.

“Seeing them grow into the people that they’ve become, that’s something that definitely drives me,” he said. “Just trying to become my best self every single day. I don’t want to just go past my four (or) five years here and feel like I haven’t done nuthin.’”

Ezeogu’s done plenty already.

After redshirting in 2022, he’s played in all 27 games since, recording two sacks, three pass breakups and a pair of quarterback hurries. He’s played inside and outside, but will likely be looked to help enliven the Cyclones’ weak pass rush, which produced a Big 12-worst 16 sacks last season.

“What we’re really working on is getting better at beating the one-on-one block,” said ISU defensive line coach Eli Rasheed, one of head coach Matt Campbell’s longest-tenured assistants. “It’s really about getting take off and winning and beating a set of that tackle and finishing to the quarterback. I think we’ve had some improvement of that this summer.

“We’ve got some guys that can help us there, but we’re still growing in that area.”

Ezeogu and his fellow defensive linemen will grow around Domonique Orange’s powerful presence at nose guard. Orange — twice honored on Bruce Feldman of The Athletic’s “Freak” list — has slimmed down and improved his conditioning to serve as the defense’s cornerstone.

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The 6-5, 325-pound senior recorded 3.5 of his 4.5 tackles for loss in the last five games of the 2024 season and must be on the field as much as possible for the Cyclones’ defense to be as stingy as usual under veteran coordinator Jon Heacock.

“Dom is about the team and I think that's the one change that he's made — is that he's become a really good teammate, helping young guys and those things,” Rasheed said. “But he knows what's at stake. And he knows, man, if I can be a really good team player on this defense and the team has success, I will too.”

Orange knows what it takes, as well, to earn that personal and defense-wide success.

“Being in the trenches is like if you’re pushing a car, every play, for, like, two hours straight,” said the 2026 NFL Draft prospect. “A car is accelerating your way and you’ve gotta figure out a way you don’t get pushed the other way. It’s a true dog fight. It’s grown men trying to maul each other at all times. It’s a legitimate fistfight in there at all times. … We’ve gotta work to get all that.”

ISU also needs to get better at taking down the quarterback. To that end, the Cyclones signed transfer edge rushers Tamatoa McDonough (Yale), Vontroy Malone (Tulsa) and Cannon Butler (Northern Iowa) to aid Ezeogu and others on the outside.

ISU also added former Panther and 1995 NFL Defensive Player of the Year Bryce Paup to the staff this season — and he’s made a deep impact.

“(He’s) very inspiring because that’s my goal, obviously,” said McDonough, who led the Bulldogs with 6.5 sacks last season. “To see what he did and know that it’s possible — it gives you motivation to work harder. Having him in your corner is great because he’s always there for us a resource. It’s great to have him.”

But can Paup’s addition help reestablish the defensive line as one of the Cyclones’ strengths?

Stay tuned, but Ezeogu and his defensive line mates are committed to doing just that. The inspiration he draws from his father, Anthony Ezeogu, and mother, Amie Fabah, not only drives him. It makes him who he is both on and off the field.

“We just stay hungry, man,” Ezeogu said. “We’ve just got to continue to keep building ourselves, continue to keep trusting the process, for real.”

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